* since 2005

Academy Prep strives to revitalize our community through education. Check out these articles about the state of education in our South St. Petersburg community, and how our program is making a difference.

For Good: Academy Prep transforms lives of kids at risk

83DegreesMedia.com

11/03/2015 - "With its ambitious mission and dependence on private supporters, Academy Prep may seem like a losing proposition from the get-go. Its goal: To take students fifth through eighth grade from low-income homes and give them an elite education, strong work ethic, and citizenship and behavior skills that will prepare them for continued success in high school and college."
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Too many Pinellas graduates not ready for college classes, SPC official says

Tampa Bay Times

9/16/2014 - "The boards governing St. Petersburg College and Pinellas County schools do not meet often, so Tuesday's joint meeting was supposed to be informational and pleasant, until it wasn't."
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Pinellas charter schools come under scrutiny

Tampa Bay Times

9/18/2014 - "The point of charter schools is to do better for students. They have the freedom to think outside the box, innovating with longer school days or years, gender-segregated classrooms and more, all in the name of providing better options for children than the traditional system can."
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Editorial: Improving struggling schools

Tampa Bay Times

8/15/2014 - "Nowhere today in Pinellas County is the promise of a new school year more urgent than in a handful of south St. Petersburg schools where students have consistently struggled to learn to read."
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Local elementary schools among Florida's lowest in reading

Tampa Bay Times

7/11/2014 - "Five Pinellas County elementary schools and one in Hillsborough were among the state's 20 lowest performers in reading this past year. Melrose Elementary and Fairmount Park Elementary logged the two lowest scores statewide, part of a list released Friday along with school grades. Both schools earned F's for the second consecutive year."
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Failure Factories

8/12/2015 - "On Dec. 18, 2007, the Pinellas County School Board abandoned integration. They justified the vote with bold promises: Schools in poor, black neighborhoods would get more money, more staff, more resources. They delivered none of that."
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12/08/2017 - "Ultimate Medical Academy Board Member Sheila McDevitt recently presented a check for $5,000 to Gina Burkett, head of school at the Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg, in recognition of Academy Prep’s job well done and to help other students qualifying for need-based scholarships at the rigorous private middle school."
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